Back-to-school splash in Sugar Land’s town square
Photo: Courtesy of Sugar Land Town Square
Swimwear is encouraged when bubble lovers wow the crowds at Sugar Land Town Square’s annual Back to School Splash Bash this weekend.
For 10 years, the retail development has hosted the water-soaked event to mark the final days of summer.
This year, the free event benefits the Fort Bend Rainbow Room. Guests are asked to bring backpacks and school supplies for foster children hosted by the nonprofit.
Teresa Preza of Sugar Land Town Square says the back-to-school season is a critical time of need for the area’s resource center. Backpacks are the biggest need, he says, for kids starting a new school year and for those who use them to store their belongings during times of transition.
After dropping off their donations, families can cool off at mister stations throughout the event before trying out the bounce houses, bouncy slides and toddler play area.
While a DJ plays music for the kids from the steps of Sugar Land City Hall, guests can meet Sugar Land Space Cowboys representatives and visit food booths to quench their thirst.
More information
“Back to School Splash Bash” at Sugar Land Town Square, 2711 Plaza Dr., Sugar Land. Free. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday; sugarlandtownsquare.com
“George Hermann’s 179th Birthday” at Hermann Park, Kinder Station, 6100 Hermann Park Dr. Free. Train travel, $1.79 for children under 12. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday; hermannpark.org
Local troupe All About Hoops will perform a choreographed hula hoop routine, offering instruction to children in the crowd and leading an informal hula hoop contest.
Preza says a crowd favorite at the event, which has about 2,000 attendees each summer, is The Texas Bubblers.
With 10-foot rods and a solution the wife calls a secret family recipe, the husband-wife duo puts on a performance that leaves the kids in awe, she says.
Michelle Anderson, one half of the bubble-making duo, will move through the crowd as she shakes her arms to use nets to form clusters of bubbles that look like jellyfish.
She calls the effect “Texas snow.”
“We have the power to change the weather,” quips Anderson. “It would be great to cool it down to about 10 degrees.”
Another trick the pair perform using their U-shaped sticks and other devices is called a cuatro, in which they form four giant bubbles simultaneously.
“People don’t expect it,” Anderson says. “They just go crazy,” he says of the cheering crowd. “‘Again’ is my favorite word.”
Wind permitting, he’ll mesmerize onlookers with “monster bubbles,” made from bamboo sticks and telescoping fishing rods that he holds above the children’s heads. Some extend over 20 feet.
As he pulls the bubbles above the crowd, they’ll only last a few seconds before the kids rush over to pop them.
Other tricks are called bubble bath and bubble cloud.
If there’s time, he says, kids who arrive at the bubble zone with misters’ wet hands can practice catching bubbles and learn how to blow a bubble inside another bubble.
“The bubbles stress me out,” Anderson says of the show, which engages children and adults alike.
“It’s a time to… remember your childhood and a time of pure joy.”
Preza says the Splash Bash sees the same families come back every August. “Hopefully the kids will go home exhausted,” he says, of “fun, interactive family entertainment in a space that’s built on that sense of community.”
And it’s all aboard at Hermann Park’s Kinder Station this Saturday, where park officials are hosting a celebration in honor of George Hermann’s 179th birthday.
To commemorate the birthday of the park’s namesake, who in 1914 donated the land that is now Hermann Park to the city of Houston, party-goers will be treated to complimentary birthday cake, Italian ice cream and face painting.
For children 12 and under, train rides will be offered for $1.79, instead of the regular fare of $3.75.
A bubble machine, crafts and classic carnival games add to the festivities. Specialty menu items will be priced at $1.79 at the Park Cafe Ginger Kale, located next to the train station.
Michele Andrews of the Hermann Park Conservancy says the annual event recognizes the legacy of Hermann’s gift and “that spirit and care for the park and the land here in Houston.”
Allison Bagley is a writer from Houston.
Allison Bagley is a freelance writer for the Houston Chronicle.
